Earlier this week, a story about a pole dancing class for kids swept across the nation. Utahns chimed in about it on the ABC 4 Facebook page, calling it disturbing and ridiculous.
After that story aired, a local family contacted ABC 4 Anchor, Kim Fischer. They said there's more to pole dancing than just exotic entertainment. They say it can be wholesome fitness for the entire family.
When you think of pole dancing, you might think of Demi Moore or Britney spears, but one thing most people don’t even begin to imagine is a 7 year old boy on a pole. Well, little Anthony Lujan has no issue doing acrobatic moves at a pole in his home. His mom, Chastitie Lujan started poling 6 years ago; she said she knows there's a stigma around her chosen craft.
"I do totally recognize that people have that, and I’m not going to say hey you totally shouldn't think that way, because we don't need to beat around the bush," Lujan said.
Lujan understands pole dancing became popular in the strip clubs back in the 80's, but with the creation of things like Cirque Du Soleil and pole competitions, she said it's really become a sport.
"There’s definitely a separation between pole dancing in the strip club and pole dancing for fitness it's such two separate things," she said.
Lujan was a ballet dancer, but 6 years ago she suffered a back injury. So her friend introduced her to pole fitness to help rebuild her core.
"Honestly, I had the same thought back then; I thought that's kind of silly... How is prancing around a pole and looking sexy going to make my back better?" she asked.
But she said it did, and it improved her all around fitness. Lujan was hooked, even getting a pole for her home.
"Of course while I was doing it, my kids would see me and I have two boys, and you know, it's a playground," Lujan said.
She said if you remove the stigma, there's noting wrong with pole fitness. She hopes one day the rest of society will agree.
"Take a second, get outside the box and try to put a new image there," Lujan said.
If you still have your doubts about pole fitness as a sport, Chastitie and a group of other dancers have already had their first meeting with the international Olympic committee in hopes of making it an Olympic sport by 2020.
